Bloomington IN-- events for MARCH coming up!

I'm proud and excited to bring my collaborators to my town for a series of events in the coming weeks-- here's a rundown of what's going on:

"THE POWER OF WORDS" presents MARCH:

Thurs Sept. 10th-- I'll be doing a presentation/discussion of my work, process, and lifelong journey through comics, with a focus on my collaboration on the March saga, at the Monroe County Public Library (Room 1B) from 7-8:30 pm. Enrollment is $65, BUT includes this presentation and its follow-up event on the 17th AND both the IU Auditorium event on the 21st and the private reception beforehand. Sign up ASAP if you wanna go!

Sun Sept. 13th-- book discussion of March. 2:00 pm, Monroe County Public Library, Room 2B.

Tues Sept. 15th-- I'll be on WFHB's "Interchange" from 6-7 pm, discussing March.

Wed Sept. 16th-- Teen program/discussion of March-- FREE copies of March: Book One for all attendees! 3:30-5:00 pm, Monroe County Public Library.

Thurs Sept. 17th-- I'll be doing a teen presentation/discussion of my work on March from 6-7 pm at the Monroe County Public Library.

Thurs Sept. 17th-- Part Two of the ticketed discussion of March. 7:00- 8:30 pm at Monroe County Public Library.

Mon Sept. 21st-- private reception/ meet-and-greet with Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and me. 5:30-7:00 pm, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center (275 N. Jordan Ave.). Tickets include premium reserved seating at the IU Auditorium presentation.

Mon Sept. 21st-- John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and I all discuss our work on March, as well as Congressman Lewis' incredible life path. FREE event-- you just gotta get the tickets! 7:30-9:00 pm, IU Auditorium.

See you there! Please check out the MCPL's Power Of Words site for thorough information on any and all of these events. Thanks!

Team MARCH in Bloomington, IN-- September 21st!

Here's Monroe County Public Library's official announcement that John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and I are this year's "The Power Of Words" guest authors! It's an honor to bring the whole creative team back to the town where I live.

We'll be doing a free discussion, Q&A, and signing at IU Auditorium at 7:30 pm on September 21st, with additional early events for thousands of high schoolers and middle schoolers in the area, for whom our March saga has been introduced to the classroom.

More details as they unfold!

MARCH: BOOK TWO in bookstores TODAY!

Book release day! March: Book Two is available in bookstores/online everywhere today, and will hit comic book shops tomorrow.

You can order signed/sketched copies directly from me here.

I'll be doing a book launch signing this Friday at Vintage Phoenix Comics in Bloomington IN from 5-7 pm-- the FB event is here. See you there!

MARCH: BOOK TWO hits stores next week! Book launch signings & discussions!

 March: Book Two hits bookstores January 20th and comic shops on the 21st! 

I'm honored to see that we've picked up starred reviews at Kirkus and School Library Journal, and have landed on both Paste's "Most Anticipated Comics of 2015" and "Best Covers of January" lists!

Here's another review at Roll Call, and an interview with all of us at Diamond Bookshelf.

I'll be doing a signing at Vintage Phoenix Comics in Bloomington IN on Friday, January 23rd from 5-7 pm-- signing and selling all my books, including still-new copies of The Lost Hero and the new paperback edition of The Year Of The Beasts. The FB event page is here.

My collaborators John Lewis and Andrew Aydin will be doing a discussion and signing in DC on January 21st at the National Press Club Book Rap-- check it out here! (Tickets are required.)

I'm also selling signed/sketched copies of Book Two (and the rest) from my site's shop. ORDER HERE if you'd like one mailed to you! Thanks.

Art exhibit opening August 9th at The Owlery in Bloomington IN!

If you're in the Bloomington area, I have an exhibit of original artwork going up at The Owlery (118 W. 6th St.) for the month of August. The opening reception is Friday, August 9th from 10pm-1am.

HERE'S THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE.

Knock a few back, eat a corn dog, buy some artwork, and get copies of MARCH: BOOK ONE before its official release date! Original pages of March will also be available for sale as a part of this exhibit.

See you there!
 

New poster by Erin Tobey for Bloomington Sex Salon!

Here's an awesome new poster by versatile drawing-mate Erin Tobey for the first Bloomington Sex Salon, hosted by sex researcher and educator Dr. Debby Herbenick, and featuring Dr. Bryant Paul discussing his research related to the nature and effects of sexually explicit media. It's happening at The Bishop on Sunday, February 17th-- here's the FB page.

Check out more of Erin Tobey's work here, her solo musical project and previous band Fat Shadow, and her label Houseplant Records.

R.I.P. Fat Shadow; new musical goings-on

This is a quick post in recognition of one of my favorite Bloomington-area bands, Fat Shadow, who recently called it quits. Fat Shadow was a perfect punk-meets-classic rock storm, carved from the spaces where Heart meets X, where Jefferson Airplane meets Dinosaur Jr.

In their time, they managed to release the outstanding Foot Of Love LP, which is available here on vinyl/download and here as a direct download. 

(Here are a ton of live Fat Shadow photos I took over the years as well.)

In the meantime, definitely check out these jams from its members:

Purple 7 is a new Replacements-meets-Guided By Voices power trio with Chris Mott (Fat Shadow, Door-Keys, Landlord), Will Staler (Defiance Ohio, Landlord), and Patrick Jennings (Hot New Mexicans). They've got an incredible 5-song 12" out now on Let's Pretend Records (and here's the download), and are currently touring as well.

Here's a video for their song "Poison Ivy."

Fat Shadow drummer Jeff Grant (also of Pink Razors and Stop It!!) has a solo band project called Full Sun, with two tapes under his belt, both still available as downloads. I highly recommend the Bare Floor recording! He's also playing guitar and singing in The Sands, a new band featuring folks from Memory Map, Magnolia Electric Co., and Coke Dares, as well as internet cat-celebrity Lil Bub's human caretaker.

Bassist/wailer Erin Tobey is currently in the process of hammering out what will be a stunning second solo album; her classic 2005 debut is still available as an LP here and download here. She is also an accomplished multimedia artist and has recently teamed up musically with Tammar, Vollmar, and one-off Donna Summer cover band Bad Girls.

Vocalist Daun Fields also performs and records as Vera Maleta, and released several albums fronting The Door-Keys. She also has a blog called Crocosmia, chronicling her relationship to magic, growth, and the creative spirit.

"Affirmations"-- new pieces by Erin Tobey!

Here are four new pieces by multimedia artist and musician extraordinaire Erin Tobey-- check them out up close in this Flickr set!

Only two are still available, so chop chop..!

And here's this year's previous work, "Moving Moments". Not to be missed!

Group exhibit at The Owlery in Bloomington!

I'll have some original artwork on display/for sale in a group exhibit at The Owlery (118 W. 6th Street) in Bloomington IN-- the show is in conjunction with this weekend's Plan-It-X Fest, and 15% of the artwork sales will go to benefit Mother Hubbard's Cupboard (an essential public food pantry).

My stuff will be alongside works by Erin Tobey, Ryan Woods, Matt Tobey, Sean Mahan, Chris Clavin, Izzy Jarvis, Megan March Mink, Rich Diem, Emily Timm, Alan Crenshaw, and Rebecca Redman.

The show's opening will be Friday, June 22nd from 11pm-1am, and will remain up until August. The Facebook event page is here.

See you there!

BLOOMINGTON-- in-store signing/ book release at Vintage Phoenix Comics!

If you live in Bloomington IN, I'll be doing a signing/ book release throwdown at Vintage Phoenix Comics (114 E. 6th St.) on Friday, June 15th from 7-9pm! This will be in conjunction with the year's release of Sweet Tooth #34, The Year Of The Beasts, and The Silence Of Our Friends.

Snacks? Check. Drinks? Check.

Original artwork will also be for sale. See you there!

The Facebook event is here.

ANY EMPIRE release party/signing at Boxcar Books!

If you're around Bloomington over Labor Day weekend, come to the book release party for Any Empire at Boxcar Books (408 E. 6th St.) on Saturday, September 3rd from 8-10 pm!

There will be food, drink, and jams, and I'll be selling all my books at a discount!

The Facebook event page is here.

Oxford American & weekend con in Kankakee!

Hey there!

I have an illustration in the brand new issue of Oxford American magazine (#73). check it out!

Also, if you're around northern Illinois this Saturday, June 4th, I'll be at the Kankakee Fantasy Con from 10am-5pm. It's at the Kankakee Public Library (201 E. Merchant St.). Please save me from the lightsaber wielding action figure collectors.

See you tomorrow night at my art opening at the Owlery in Bloomington! 10pm!

interview/feature this week Bloomington's WTIU!

If you're in the Bloomington area, tune your TV to WTIU tomorrow, February 17, at 8pm for an interview with me in my studio! It'll also be playing Friday, February 18th at 6pm, and next week will be viewable at www.theweeklyspecial.org as well as Youtube.